Challenged
by Snowsong of SnowClan
Summary: Promises broken. Joy short lived. What could have been. Battles lost. Wars won. Watch these cats as they face life with everything they've got- but sometimes not even that is enough. Challenges from forums I'm on. Reviews are appreciated!
1. Friends Forever?

_ She promised, didn't she? She promised we would be friends forever, always helping each other, always there for one another._

_ But she broke her promise. My only friend broke her promise, and with it, she broke my heart. I loved her so dearly. She was the only thing I had. And she left me. I'm alone. Utterly alone._

_I __was__ Fadedheart __of RiverClan, the Clan that craves all things __beautiful.__ According to my parents, I wasn't supposed to be born. Huh. And the other kits were._

_ I'll not waste your time with my full backstory, just a summary, but if you're here than you're obviously interested in what happens to me. _

_ Or more likely the other cats- the ones with tragic, heart-breaking tales of lost loved ones._

_ At least they had loved ones._

_ My mother loved me, but she didn't want to. She didn't want me. My father, on the other paw, blatantly hated me. From the first time he saw me, he hated me. Maybe it was because of my odd, dull gray eyes. Maybe it was because I was one solid color all over- gray. Ugly, dull, gray. _

_ Or maybe it was because I was the only one out of my litter to survive the first leaf-bare. Me, of course. It had to be me- the ugly duckling._

_ The others were pretty- beautiful, even. Classically named, Goldkit was a golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes, Dawnkit had green eyes with a cream underbelly and a faded red-pink back, while Streamkit was a silvery-blue with black tabby stripes and gorgeous deep blue eyes._

_ Then there was me. Fadedkit. Not black nor white, but gray all over. _

_ Ahem, just like my father._

_ The hypocrite._

_ But, as I said before, this is not about my backstory- it is about our story. About me and _her_._

_ I grew, along with my the Clan's hatred, disdain, and/or pity, to hate them. I learned to cut myself off from the world. Ignore the taunts, the jeers, for something I couldn't help. I knew very well I couldn't help it, and at first blamed my parents. _

_ That got me nowhere, so I decided to blame StarClan._

_ I still do, but there was a time when I almost didn't._

She_ ruined that slim chance._

* * *

_"__Fadedpaw?" She asked, in that concerned way she always __talked__ to me. "Are you okay?"_

No,_ I want to say. _I'm not okay. I'm never okay. How can I be when everyone treats me like I'm a worthless piece of prey to be tossed about?

_But how could I say that? She's the only one who cares about me. My only friend._

_ "I'm fine," I hear myself mew. _

I'm not, _I hear myself think._

_ "Silverpaw?" I ask._

_ "Yes?" She replies, waiting._

_ "We'll be friends forever, right?"_

_ "Of course!" She responds warmly._

_ "Promise?" I had to be sure._

_ "Promise." She responds, yawning._

_ We fall asleep easily in the apprentices den, before the other apprentices can taunt me, and I'm conforted. At least I knew I would always have one friend, if nothing else._

_ Seasons later, we were Silverstream and Fadedheart. She broke her promise. She left me- left me for the big gray ThunderClan tabby. I didn't really care, then- we were still best friends- but she started getting obsessed with him. One night, after a visit with him, she told me she had great news- she was expecting kits!_

_ I was so happy for her, but I was also jealous. Why had _she_ found a mate so easily? Why should _she_ get a happy life when I shouldn't?_

_ The answer was obvious. In RiverClan, it wasn't brawn over brain- it was beauty over brain._

_ Soon after she fou__n__d she was expecting kits, she abandoned me. I thought we were still friends, __but she asked me to leave her alone. _

_ My hurt soon turned to anger, and in turn turned to a lust for revenge._

_ I watched the medicine cat for a while and learned something vital._

_ I snuck into the herb store and stole a plant- and dusted though it was, it smelled like frost._

_ I gave it to her, because apparently "I had a headache, so I went to the medicine den and was requested to bring this herb to you. It's supposed to help your milk come or something."_

_ Later that day, she went to visit her mate across the river._

_ She never came back, but her kits did, and her mate. _

_ That backfired._

_ He eventually got over her, and found a new mate. Had more kits. _

_ I watched as his first daughter saved a faraway group of cats- unlike most dead cats could, because when no one noticed you in life, they don't notice you in death either. And that makes it so much easier to sneak away._

_ I wished so much I had not killed her, but her kits instead._

_ When I __died, I changed my name._

_ You wouldn't know me, though, because I soon lived up to my namesake._

_ I am forsaken._

_ I am forgotten._

_ I am faded._


	2. Surrender

_**Surrender- **_**FrozenClan****Challenge**

Some cats don't know when to stop fighting, and simply retreat. Cats hungry for power, who crave bloodshed.

Cats like Tigerstar- though he was Tigerclaw when I was alive.

Before he killed me.

I am Redtail, the first victim of Tigerclaw. Bluestar's noble deputy, someday to be leader.

As you know, that was not the case.

I knew Lionheart would make a fantastic deputy for ThunderClan, and while I honestly had my doubts about Fireheart, I grew to admire him with a passion- daring, loyal, caring- the model warrior, deputy, and leader.

Let me take you back, and show you why sometimes we need to surrender- to live to fight another day.

_I flicked my tail in a silent signal to attack. _

_ We leaped __out __at the RiverClan cats from behind __a boulder, and they reared up at us simultaneously. _

_ I charged into battle with my Clan, calculating my moves, slashing, biting, dodging._

_ I saw Tigerclaw order Mousefur to run when she was wounded, and then noticed him again taking on Oakheart._

_ Most of the warriors were already exhausted, but when a second patrol of RiverClan cats joined the battle, they were disheartened as well. _

_ Dismayed, I looked around at my Clanmates, who were bleeding and panting, every fiber in their body exhausted. Tigerclaw was still fighting, though, and fighting hard. I admired his strength and stamina._

_ But if the other warriors kept fighting, they would soon have no strength to fight with, and they would be cut down and left like trampled grass._

_ I yowled to him over the clamor of screeching and ripping fur, "Tigerclaw! This is useless! There are too many RiverClan warriors!"_

_ The look in his eyes was one of pure rage and hatred as he replied in a hiss, "No, Redtail. ThunderClan will never be beaten!" __Drops of blood welled on his muzzle and he flicked them off impatiently._

_ "ThunderClan will honor your courage, Tigerclaw, but we cannot afford to lose any more of our warriors. Bluestar would never expect her warriors to fight against these impossible odds. We will have another chance to avenge our defeat." I persuaded, meeting his unreadable amber-eyed glare and glaring back._

_ Once he looked away, I jumped on top of a boulder and cried, "Retreat, ThunderClan, retreat!"_

_ My pelt spiked and I resisted the urge to snarl as the RiverClan cats yowled their victory to the stars. _We live to fight another day,_ I vowed in my head._

_ I flicked my tail for the other cats to go ahead of me, and did not notice Tigerclaw in the shadows. No other cat did, either._

_I started on my way back to camp, when suddenly a weight barreled into my side. The breath was knocked out of me, and a cat pinned me down. I was too stunned to recognize the scent, and it was too dark to see who it was, so I assumed it was RiverClan, trying to take more than they could ever deserve._

_ I snarled. "Get off me, you mangy fish-eating RiverClan piece of-!"_

_ Suddenly, the moon came out form behind the cloud, and I stared, stunned, at the broad tabby face, amber eyes, and scarlet blood welling on the muzzle of the cat many thought to be the most loyal cat in ThunderClan._

_ "_Tigerclaw_?" I asked, my eyes wide. "What in StarClan's name are you doing?"_

_ His only reply was a purr as he reared his paw, spiked with the longest claws in the Clans. The last thing my eyes saw were the terrified eyes of a skinny black apprentice._

_ And I surrendered to the darkness crashing over me._


	3. What If?

_FrozenClan Challenge- What If?_

Hollyleaf whipped around. The Dark Forest cat she had just fought she had just sent howling into the bushes.

_ As long as I can fight, the Dark Forest will not win! _She thought, determined.

Without warning, a weight crashed into her.

She curled her lip at the stench, and instinctively flinched. She turned to find her half-brother, his tail lashing, fur spiked and splattered with blood.

_Oh, joy. _She thought with malicious sarcasm. _It's the other brother who should have never been born. It's too obvious that Crowfeather never loved Nightcloud- he never even liked her._

"How could you betray you own family?" She hissed.

"Easy." He replied in a growl, hate and malice gleaming in his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, I have none. No overprotective mother, no father who ignores me...No half-siblings who should never have been born..."

Before Hollyleaf had a chance to come back with a stinging reply, he bowled her over, his claws gripping her shoulders as he tried to pummel her stomach. Hollyleaf easily swiped his back paws off and in turn pummeled his stomach.

Suddenly she heard a familiar cry.

_Ivypool!_

She turned her head for a split second to see Ivypool being mauled by Thistleclaw and Snowtuft. They had ganged up on the silvery tabby, enraged by her betrayal of the Dark Forest.

Another familiar cry, this time from Tigerheart. Hawkfrost had slashed his throat out, and now one of the cats Hollyleaf had once thought to be her kin was dead. Despite the recent hostility and awkwardness, Hollyleaf was regretful she hadn't been able to make amends.

Until she remembered she would have been able to if Hawkfrost hadn't killed him.

_No!_ she thought, enraged. _We have to win!_

Breezepelt watched her horrified gaze and smirked. "We'll have every last one of you pathetic Clan cats dead in no time."

_Never! _With a burst of fury and adrenaline, Hollyleaf lunged for her half-brother.

_If I can get rid of him, there might be time enough to save Ivypool. _

Prepared for her attack, Breezepelt simply scooted out of the way, and reached out to trip her as she flew by.

Hollyleaf landed heavily on the ground, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping, her vision went fuzzy. There was suddenly a pressure on her throat, and it was the best Hollyleaf could do not to choke.

She saw Hawkfrost standing over her, his mouth dripping with Tigerheart's blood.

Breezepelt smirked down at her, ready for the killing blow.

_I will _not_ let you win!_

A sudden fire of hate coursed through her blood.

_ Fight like rouges. _ Firestar's words rang in her mind. At first, Hollyleaf had thought he hadn't been serious. There couldn't really be a cat who would really fight so ruthlessly, could there? But she knew most cats didn't follow the warrior code like she did...

She swiped at Breezepelt's neck, her claws unsheathed to their full extent.

Despite him being full WindClan and Hollyleaf only half WindClan, Hollyleaf's blow was faster than his attempt to doge it.

She felt a savage satisfaction as her claws ripped through his soft, exposed flesh. His blood splattered her own neck fur, and his eyes were shocked, though they slowly dulled.

It took him a while to die, as his blood spilled out onto the dusty ground, where it was gulped up by parched sand- which was slowly turning to a slimy forest floor. It sounded like what Lionblaze had described the Dark Forest as- no stars, no moon- just endless forest, with the occasional river of slime.

Disgusted and terrified, she ripped her eyes away from Breezepelt's body and the blood pooling around it. Her eyes landed on Hawkfrost.

Undisguised rage shown plainly on her face, setting her pretty green eyes into a raging, blazing, hot green fire.

She spat at Hawkfrost. "Call yourself a cat? You miserable, fox-hearted, sick, twisted-"

Hawkfrost cut her off with a bored yawn. He eyed her lazily. "What else is new?"

He leaped at her with no warning and bowled her over, pummeling at her stomach. Suddenly his bulky weight came off of her, and for a split second Hollyleaf thought someone had come to help her. Using the split second to her advantage, she threw herself up with a roar of fury, her black pelt spiking to make her look as big as Hawkfrost himself.

He didn't flinch, and his pelt stayed smooth.

"You put up quite a fight, Hollyleaf." He mewed smoothly. "It's too bad we aren't really kin. You would've been perfect."

Hollyleaf was taken aback. _He...he can't be serious... _She shook herself. _He's trying to trick me. There's no way he actually thinks that. Hollyleaf, he's just trying to trick you. _She hardened. For the first time since she had gotten up, Hollyleaf looked around. She blinked.

_No._

_ No..._

_ No!_

Snowtuft and Thistleclaw were seated calmly by a silver body, it's pelt lacerated with red, welting wounds, staring angrily up into the sky. The two toms were licking the blood of their claws, but once they had finished they didn't bother to groom their pelts.

Thistleclaw caught her staring. "It helps claws stay sharper." he growled. There was a wild light in his eyes, one Hollyleaf had seen in all the Dark Forest cats' eyes.

_Bloodlust._

The word rang eerily through her mind, and she staggered.

Hollyleaf's eyes ranged the WindClan camp. Only a few cats were in the clearing, and none of them were warriors. Hollyleaf wasn't even sure they were cats at this point.

_I have to be dreaming. I'm going to wake up soon, and __Ivypool will be alright, and Tigerheart will still be alive..._

But the wounds on her own pelt felt too real. The horror, the pain, the terror...

_Please, StarClan, let this be a dream..._

Hawkfrost stepped forward, a friendly gleam in his eyes. But what was it concealing?

Malice?

Hate?

Plotting?

Hollyleaf could not find a hint of a lie in his ice blue eyes.

"Will you join us, Hollyleaf?"

It was Hawkfrost.

"We know about the cats who betrayed you. How Leafpool and Squirrelflight lied to you, how Crowfeather disowned you. Even how Lionblaze had a... relationship... with a WindClan apprentice." He paused, his eyes pleading.

Hollyleaf felt rage simmering inside her.

"All those cats broke the warrior code. We could help restore that, make all your pain go away."

The rage went from a simmer to a flame, to a terrible, raging fire.

"_Uphold_ the warrior code, you mean?" She laughed maniacally. "_Uphold it_?_ You_?"

Still laughing, she had to take a deep breath before she could continue.

"You, the cat that tried to kill a leader?"

"You, the cat that tried to kill your own brother?"

"You, the cat that has killed countless innocent cats- kits and elders included?"

Slowly, she mewed, "You, the son who wanted to be like your father- a murder?"

She had a wild gleam in her eyes now, and said excitedly, "You know what? I think I- I will..."

Hawkfrost looked shocked, but pleased. "Very well, then-"

"Wait!" Hollyleaf snapped. "I wasn't finished."

"I think, I will not."

The next moments were claustrophobic, as all the Dark Forest cats crowded in around her, eager to deliver the killing blow.

She was badly outnumbered- countless enemies against her. Outnumbered ten thousand to one.

She had one more look at all the bodies around her- WindClan, ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan... and noticed one Clan was missing.

_StarClan,_ she prayed. _Please forgive me._

The fifth Clan arrived too late. There were more than just them though- there was an orange-and-white tom, his head bowed in sorrow.

"No! I promised I'd see her again!" He wailed.

Her spirit woke to his voice, and stood up dizzily.

They padded to the stars together.

**HOLLYXFALLEN 4EVAR! :D So this was pretty much just if the patrol at WindClan during the Great Battle had lost. **


	4. Died Too Young

_Died Too Young- Challenge from The Three Tribes_

I had always lived on a farm, with cows and pigs and huge fields of corn. My siblings and I lived in a barn, and we made our nests inside of a huge pile of hay, where there were cracks and tunnels everywhere to burrow into. My mother was named Rita, and she was a pretty calico with green eyes. I had several siblings, a big brave gray tabby tom, a nervous black tom with a white paw, and a calico sister. I was a tortoiseshell, and I always followed my big brother, the gray tabby. His name was Simba.

Our father used to tell us stories about big groups of cats who lived far away, even beyond the mountains, where they had moved to find more prey. Father had a funny name, it was Ravenpaw. He told us about brave cats who battled evil ones, and how when cats died there they went to live in the stars! I wanted to live in the stars, and I told father so, too, and he said if I was a good cat that maybe I would.

Wish granted.

* * *

We were all playing in the hay, and mother was out hunting, when big tall furless animals came in and tried to catch us! I hid in the hay, and so did Simba, Crow, and Flutter. Then Simba, always the brave one, stepped out to investigate. He didn't look scared at all, so I followed him. I was so busy picking my way down the hay stack I didn't realize that they had scooped him up, and now they were reaching for me!

I squeaked and tried to hind with Crow and Flutter, but they pushed me out because there wasn't enough room! One of the animals picked me up, but it didn't hurt me or eat me. It stroked me and cooed at me, and then put me down. She was really nice.

Simba bragged about being so brave later, and our mother looked worried. "Don't go near those nofurs again," she scolded. "They will take you away, and I will never see you again."

But Simba taunted her and teased her, "Scaredy cat! I bet they wouldn't take us away! I dare you to go up to them again!"

Hurt, I glared back at him. "Why don't you do it, too, scaredy cat?"

"Maybe I will!" He retorted.

So the next time they came, he went out first and I followed him, and sure enough they picked us up and took us away.

We were fed a sweet liquid that was sweeter than milk, but it made me feel sick. I couldn't see anything and I hurt all over.

The nofurs took me to an "animal hospital", and other nofurs stole my blood through a sharp point and put something else in with the same thing. It hurt so much! Simba wasn't anywhere to be seen, and I wished he would come rescue me, but he never came.

Finally the nofurs who took me came in, and they looked really sad. I didn't know why; they took me from my home, and while it was an adventure, I missed the rest of my family. Why should they care? I wasn't old enough to understand yet- just about five moons.

They wrapped me up in a soft fur, and my eyes shut and the world went black.

I was guided to StarClan by a cat with stars in her fur. She had friendly, warm eyes and fur as white as snow. It is always warm and there is always plenty of food. I'm almost happy now. I just have to wait for my brothers and sister.

My father named me Petalkit.

**So, this was actually based on my kitten who died before we even got home from the vacation we got her and her brother on. She had diabetes. ;( My parents got me another kitten, and I decided to name them both Nala. My brother was _really_ mean to Simba (as in throw him down the stairs when he was a KITTEN- yeah, I know, he's insane!) and Simba started going crazy and attacking Nala, so she has a pretty sad life, too. :(**

**Oh, random fact: I chose the name Petalkit because on most of the forums I RP on I base my cat off of both Nalas and named her Petalbreeze.**

**Keep reviewing! This is the only book I don't need reviews for to update, but I still need feedback! :D**


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